Gert is a great fan of Amelia Bloomer’s approach to fashion, though not so much of her views on temperance. So she was delighted to read of the modern reinvention of The Rational Dress Society of 1881, which followed on from Mrs Bloomer’s vision by advocating boneless stays, fashion that does not deform the body and underwear that weighs less than 7 lbs. Sound advice, which Gert has always followed.
The modern Rational Dress Society is the creation of Maura Brewer and Abigail Glaum-Lathbury, who have designed “an ungendered mono-garment to replace all clothes in perpetuity”. This takes the form of a jumpsuit in either white or black, made from sustainable fabric. They have patterns in two hundred and forty-eight sizes to fit almost any body type. You can print the pattern for free from their website or, for a hundred and fifty dollars, order one ready-made. Here’s their website so you can do just that. There’s no information about underwear, but you can’t go wrong with the less-than-7-lbs rule.
Image: CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=28836
Gert Loveday's Fun with Books 
Aside from certain practical points which make jumpsuits inconvenient for women, I am wondering about the choice of shoes for the woman model. Thanks, Gert!
She’s looking down at the shoes: is she wondering “why the hell did I put these on?” or is she looking down because she’s tripped over those clogs?
I hope that she’s wondering just how the clogs suit the idea of rational dress . . . you do have a knack for finding the cutting edge, and the ideas that are beyond those edges.
Maybe she’s wondering if they weigh more than 7lbs, and whether she needs to factor that in in the choice of underwear?
Oh, excellent point. I can’t imagine how one could get more than a pound of underwear beneath that form-fitting garment (although you did note it’s available for different body shapes and sizes), and so perhaps the weight of the clogs would not be an issue. I’ve had a couple of friends break ankles in the recent past while wearing clogs; I’m persuaded that they are not for me, rational dress or no.
Only two colours you say? I guess you could always put a back flap for the women. (Even men would need a black flap) Then a front flap for the men? Skip the underwear completely. Can you imagine 7 lbs. of underwear?
Leslie
Yes, once you take the bones out of your stays it’s hard to see where the rest of the weight comes from. Unless you wear one of those Madonna conical bras perhaps.
No underwear? The outfit looks a bit itchy.
By all accounts, chastity belts were on the weighty and sturdy side. . . .
This thread is certainly a nice distraction from pruning my library of writing craft books, essay collections, textbooks, and more. Thanks!
It could be itchy.